Mitch Evans heads into this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix double-header full of confidence, after claiming a remarkable victory last time out in São Paulo. Evans was sublimed in Brazil and finally managed to seal a brilliant result, with his season up to São Paulo having been full of bad luck.
He’ll be hoping that Brazil wasn’t simply a fluke and that he can be just as strong at the Tempelhof Street Circuit, a venue where he claimed a podium at in Season Seven. His victory at the previous round certainly did wonders to his championship position, with him having risen to ninth in the Drivers’ Championship; albeit, still forty-seven points behind Pascal Wehrlein.
Two strong races this weekend, though, could elevate Evans right into the mix, given how many shock results there have been to the frontrunners in recent rounds. Looking ahead to this weekend, Evans has a relit “fire” in him after winning in Brazil, with it having been a “very special moment for me”.
“São Paulo was a very special moment for me; the city, the atmosphere and the entire experience made the result one I won’t forget. Celebrating on the podium again, with the team, has given me that fire for Berlin. I’m excited to take the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 to this familiar track and know the whole team will be putting in lots of work to see what we can achieve there.”
“I know I have more to give” – Sam Bird
On the other side of the Jaguar TCS Racing garage, Sam Bird is also hoping to build on from his brilliant result in Brazil, with him having finished third. Bird did excellently in Brazil to fight his way through the field, after starting tenth due to a grid penalty.
He’s certainly proven himself to be one of the only drivers this year capable of putting in a strong performance both in qualifying and in the race, with the Briton having been quick at almost every venue. Some driver errors and the odd bit of bad luck have caused him some trouble so far in the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship; however, a run of consistent results could put him into real title contention.
Bird enters this weekend sixth in the standings and forty-two points behind Wehrlein; however, as mentioned, so much could change given that it’s a double-header. Berlin hasn’t been the greatest of venues for Bird over the years, although, he did claim third one of the six races in Germany in Season Six, the year that was heavily impacted by the Coronavirus.
Regardless of this, he enters the weekend “feeling really positive”, with the target being to “keep building strong points” in Berlin.
“I’m feeling really positive after the result in Brazil, I knew the team and I had that performance in us, and I’m glad we could deliver my second podium of the season. Now onto Berlin, I know I have more to give and determined to keep building strong points!”
Credit: Sam Bloxham courtesy of FIA Formula E